JPH0671835A - Electronic composing apparatus arbitrarily changing size of characters in row one by one - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit the change of sizes of arranged characters one by one easily by a method wherein a character arraying means, determining the positions of respective characters along a predetermined reference straight line based on the sizes of respective characters obtained in accordance with a size reference line, is provided in the changing device. CONSTITUTION:An operator inputs the row of characters to be arranged through a key board 30 while type selection data, showing the row of inputted characters, is stored in a type selection data memory 16. An arrangement line is produced employing a digitizer 34 and a vector expression executing means 22 divides a wiring reference line RL into minute segments to store into a drawing data memory 14 as a multi-apex drawing. A size reference line SR is produced employing a mouth 32 and, then, a character size determining means 24 determined the sizes of respective characters of the row of characters in accordance with the size reference line SR. Then, a composition executing means 26 arranges the row of characters on an arrangement reference line RL. The sizes of respective characters are determined by only specifying the size reference line SR in such a manner whereby the sizes of respective characters can be set easily so as to have a desired size.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic typesetting device, and more particularly, to an electronic typesetting device capable of arbitrarily changing the size of a character string for each character.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic plate making process, an electronic typesetting device is used for arranging a character string under a block. The electronic typesetting device has a function of arranging a character string on a straight line, but depending on the printed matter, it may be desired to change the size of the arranged characters one by one for the purpose of visual interest. .

[0003]

However, in the conventional electronic typesetting apparatus, in order to change the size of the characters arranged on a straight line one by one, different series (character sizes are different for each character). It was necessary to specify in advance the units to be represented, and the processing was complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic typesetting apparatus capable of easily changing the size of characters to be arranged for each character. And

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the electronic typesetting device according to the present invention defines a first input means for inputting a character string and a size of each character of the character string. Second input means for designating a size reference line, and the size of each character of the character string is obtained according to the size reference line, and based on the size of each character, each character along a predetermined reference straight line Character arrangement means for determining the position.

The electronic typesetting device further includes an arrangement reference line designating means for designating an arrangement reference line of an arbitrary shape for arranging a character string, and the character arranging means defines the arrangement reference line. A virtual straight line obtained by rearranging the plurality of straight line segments into a plurality of straight line segments and associating them with a reference straight line, and each of the character strings arranged along the reference straight line It is preferable to include means for arranging the characters along the arrangement reference line.

[0007]

Since the size of each character of the character string is obtained by the character arranging means according to the size reference line, the operator can easily change the character size one by one by drawing a line of a desired shape as the size reference line. You can

If the character arranging means is provided with a means for arranging each character along an arrangement reference line of an arbitrary shape designated in advance, each character can be arranged while arranging the character along the line of an arbitrary shape. Since the character size can be changed for each character, flexibility is increased in character layout design.

[0009]

【Example】

A. 1 is a block diagram showing an electronic typesetting device as an embodiment of the present invention. This electronic typesetting device has a CPU 10
And a bus line 12, the bus line 12 includes a graphic data memory 14 and a character writing data memory 16
The typesetting information memory 18, the character arrangement device 20, and the typeset data memory 28 are connected to each other. A keyboard 30, a mouse 32, and a digitizer 34 are connected to the bus line 12 as input devices, and a color CRT 36 is connected as an output device. Further, a magnetic disk 38 is connected as an external storage device.
The character arrangement device 20 includes a vectorization executing means 22, a character size determining means 24, and a typesetting executing means 26. Note that these means are realized by a software program executed by the CPU 10.

2 and 3 are flow charts showing the procedure of the typesetting work in this embodiment. Step S
In 1, the operator uses the keyboard 30 to input a character string to be arranged. In this embodiment, the five characters "large bargain" are input. Character data representing the input character string is stored in the character data memory 16. Step S
In 2, the operator uses the digitizer 34 to create a placement reference line. 4A and 4B show the placement reference line RL.
FIG. The operator uses this placement reference line R
By designating points RP1 to RP5 on L with the digitizer 34, graphic data representing the arrangement reference line RL is input. At this time, points RP1 and RP2, and points RP4 and RP
5 designates that they are connected by a straight line, and the three central points RP2 to RP4 designate that they are connected by an arc.

In step S3, the vectorization executing means 2
2 divides the arrangement reference line RL into minute line segments to form a multi-vertex figure shown in FIG. This process is generally called vectorization. In step S3, the total length L is calculated by adding the respective lengths of the minute line segments. Here, the multi-vertex figure refers to a figure formed by sequentially connecting a plurality of straight line segments. For multi-vertex figures,
A type that forms a closed area like a polygonal figure, and FIG.
There is a type that does not form a closed region like the arrangement reference line RL of (B). The graphic data of the arrangement reference line RL as a multi-vertex graphic is stored in the graphic data memory 14. Figure 5
Is the arrangement reference line RL stored in the graphic data memory 14.
It is a conceptual diagram which shows the data of. As the figure, in addition to the multi-vertex figure, there are straight lines, arcs, and the like.

In step S4, the operator operates the mouse 3
2 is used to create the size reference line SR shown in FIG. The size reference line SR is a line that defines the size of each character of the character string "large bargain" input in step S1. In this step S4, when the operator specifies a mode for inputting the size reference line, the size reference line S
Reference coordinate axes x and y for creating R are color CRT3
6 is displayed. The operator inputs a plurality of points SP1 to SP5 at the reference coordinates. The first point SP
It is predetermined by the program that 1 is on the y-axis. In the example of FIG. 6A, three points SP1 to SP
It is specified that 3 forms a first arc and points SP3 to SP5 form a second arc. The x-axis corresponds to the reference straight line in this invention.

In step S5, the vectorization executing means 2
2 decomposes the size reference line SR into minute line segments. Note that the following steps may be executed with the arc or straight line as it is without dividing the size reference line SR into minute line segments.

In steps S6 to S12, the character size determining means 24 determines the size of each character in the character string according to the size reference line SR. First, in step S6, the current coordinate Cx, which is a parameter indicating the x coordinate, and the cumulative length ΣW, which is a parameter indicating the cumulative value of the size of the character frame.
Are initialized to 0 respectively. In step S7 of FIG. 3, the intersection of the size reference line SR and the straight line x = Cx is obtained. Initially, Cx = 0, so the intersection is the point SP1 on the y-axis.
Is. In step S8, the value of the y coordinate of the intersection SP1 obtained in step S7 is set to the length of one side, and a square frame having the intersection SP1 as the upper left apex is formed on the xy coordinates. FIG. 6B shows the square frame SQ1 thus formed. The square frame SQ1 is a figure that defines the size of the first character in the character string. In step S8, the length W1 of one side of the square frame SQ1 is further calculated as the cumulative length ΣW.
Is added to.

In step S9, the length W1 of one side of the square frame SQ1 is added to the current coordinate Cx. That is, the value of the current coordinate Cx is updated to (Cx + W1). The new current coordinate (Cx + W1) is calculated in step S
It is equal to the x coordinate of the right side of the square frame SQ1 obtained in 8. In step S10, it is determined whether or not the formation of the square frame has been completed for all the characters in the character string. If not completed, the process returns to step S7, and a square frame of the next character is formed. FIG. 6C shows steps S7 to S10.
5 square frames SQ formed by repeating
1 to SQ5 are shown. In FIG. 6C, black points IP1 to IP5 are the intersections obtained in step S7. As can be seen from FIG. 6C, the y coordinate value of the intersection of the straight line passing through the right side of a certain square frame and the size reference line SR is equal to the length of one side of the next square frame.

When the square frames of all the characters in the character string are obtained in this way, the magnification K of the characters is calculated by the following equation in step S11. K = L / ΣW (1) Here, L is a cumulative value of the lengths of minute line segments obtained by disassembling the arrangement reference line RL (FIG. 4), and ΣW is a square frame SQ1 in FIG. 6C.
Is a cumulative value of lengths W1 to W5 of one side of SQ5.

In step S12, the square frame S of each character is
By multiplying each of the lengths W1 to W5 of one side of Q1 to SQ5 by the scale factor K, the length of one side of the character frame of each character is determined. That is, the length of one side of the character frame of the i-th character is Wi × K.

In step S13, the typesetting executing means 26 arranges the character string on the arrangement reference line RL. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S13. In step S21, the cumulative length TL for obtaining the actual position of each character on the arrangement reference line RL is initialized to zero. In step S22, the position of each character on the arrangement reference line RL is obtained corresponding to the position of each character on the x-axis. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing character strings arranged on the arrangement reference line RL. The origin of the xy coordinates in FIG. 6 is associated with the starting point P1 of the arrangement reference line RL, and the position of the lower left point (indicated by a white circle) of each character according to the distance measured from the starting point P1 along the arrangement reference line RL. Is determined. Note that i
The length of one side of the character frame of the th character is Wi × K. Further, the angle of each character is set equal to the angle of the minute line segment of the arrangement reference line RL at the position of the lower left point of each character.

In step S23, the position and angle of the lower left point of the character obtained in step S22 is the typesetting information memory 1
Registered in 8. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing data registered in the typesetting information memory 18. In step S24,
It is determined whether or not the processing of all the characters in the character string is completed, and if not completed, the process returns to step S22, and the processes of steps S22 and S23 are executed for the next character. In this way, the character arrangement as shown in FIG. 8 is determined.

When it is desired to correct the character size after once determining the size of each character, it is possible to correct the character size by the method shown in FIG. The method of FIG. 10A is a method of dragging with the mouse 32 any one of the points SP1 to SP5 input when creating the size reference line SR. By doing so, the shape of the size reference line SR can be changed as shown by the broken line. After that, the size of each character is recalculated by performing the processing from step S4 of FIG.

The method of FIG. 10B is a method of dragging a predetermined vertex (for example, upper right point) of an arbitrary square frame (for example, SQ2) with the mouse 32. In this method,
As shown in 0 (C), the size of the square frame SQ2 changes, and the subsequent square frames SQ3 to SQ5 sequentially move to the right.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the size of each character is determined only by designating the size reference line SR shown in FIG. Can be easily set.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be carried out in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention, and the following modifications can be made.

(1) In the above embodiment, the size of each character is determined by one size reference line SR.
As shown in FIG. 1, the size of the character may be determined by the two size reference lines SR1 and SR2. The two size reference lines SR1 and SR2 are arbitrary curves created by the operator. The length W11 of one side of the first square frame SQ11 has a y-axis and two size reference lines SR1 and SR2.
Is equal to the distance W11 between the intersection points IP11 and IP12. The length W12 of one side of the second square frame SQ12 is
Intersections IP13 and IP14 between the straight line extending the right side of the first square frame SQ1 and the two size reference lines SR1 and SR2.
Equal to the distance between. Similarly, a square frame of each character is formed. The square frame thus formed is positioned on the x-axis as shown in FIG. 11B, and the position on the placement reference line RL (FIG. 4) is determined based on the position on the x-axis. It

(2) Various methods other than the above can be considered for determining the size of each character according to the size reference line. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing another method for determining the size of each character from the size reference line. In this method,
2 (A), the start point IP of the size reference line SR3
21 and the x-coordinate section of the end point IP22 are equally divided by the number of characters (here, 5), and the y-coordinate value of the intersection of each dividing line and the size reference line SR3 is set as the length of one side of the square frame of each character. . FIG. 12B shows the square frame S created in this way.
Q21 to SQ25 are shown.

(3) In the above embodiment, the operator specified the arrangement reference line RL, but it is not always necessary to specify the arrangement reference line RL. For example, each character may be arranged along a predetermined straight line on the image surface. At this time, the square frame determined according to the size reference line is adopted as the final character frame of each character.

(4) In the above embodiment, the characters are arranged in the square frame.
A rectangular frame having a constant aspect ratio may be used.

[0028]

As described above, according to the electronic typesetting apparatus of the present invention, the size of each character of the character string is obtained by the character arranging means according to the size reference line, so that the operator can obtain the size reference line as desired. By drawing a shape line, the character size can be easily changed one by one.

Further, if the character arranging means is provided with a means for arranging each character along an arrangement reference line of an arbitrary shape designated in advance, while arranging the characters along the line of an arbitrary shape. Since the size of each character can be changed for each character, there is an effect that flexibility is increased in character layout design.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electronic typesetting device as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of typesetting work in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of typesetting work in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement reference line RL.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing data of an arrangement reference line RL stored in a graphic data memory 14.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a size reference line.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of step S13.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing character strings arranged on a layout reference line RL.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing data registered in the typesetting information memory 18.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for correcting the character size.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of determining the size of a character by two size reference lines SR1 and SR2.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing another method for determining the size of each character from the size reference line.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... CPU 12 ... Bus line 14 ... Graphic data memory 16 ... Character data memory 18 ... Typesetting information memory 20 ... Character arrangement device 22 ... Vectorizing execution means 24 ... Character size determining means 26 ... Typesetting execution means 28 ... Formatted data Memory 30 ... Keyboard 32 ... Mouse 34 ... Digitizer 36 ... Color CRT 38 ... Magnetic disk Cx ... Current coordinates RL ... Arrangement reference line SQ1 ... Square frame SR ... Size reference line

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electronic typesetting device for electronically typesetting, for designating a first input means for inputting a character string and a size reference line defining the size of each character of the character string. Second input means and character arrangement means for determining the size of each character of the character string according to the size reference line and determining the position of each character along a predetermined reference straight line based on the size of each character. An electronic typesetting device comprising: 2. The electronic typesetting device according to claim 1, wherein:
Further, the apparatus includes an arrangement reference line designating unit that designates an arrangement reference line of an arbitrary shape for arranging a character string, and the character arranging unit divides the arrangement reference line into a plurality of straight line segments and divides the plurality of straight lines into A means for arranging a virtual straight line in which line segments are rearranged and a reference straight line and arranging each character of the character string arranged along the reference straight line along the arrangement reference line Electronic typesetting equipment including.